Peter Milobar (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

BC Conservative Leadership Race

Kamloops MLA Milobar chats BC Conservative leadership campaign as field narrows

Mar 19, 2026 | 4:33 PM

KAMLOOPS — A field that began with 11 leadership candidates has been whittled down to just seven.

Kamloops-Centre MLA Peter Milobar is the last remaining current member of the legislature in the running to become the next leader of the B.C. Conservative Party. The longtime MLA sees his Victoria seat as an advantage.

“It’s a little bit more when you are in opposition to convince an MLA to step aside to create a by-election, to actually win that by-election,” said Milobar. “And then of course the Premier controls the timeline so he can wait the six months to make sure he has an extra one seat majority in the legislature for that whole timeframe as well.”

The leadership election will be conducted using a ranked system, making it important to secure down ballot votes.

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“I have tried very hard to stay focused on who I am, what I stand for and what I’m campaigning for,” Milobar told CFJC News. “Certainly some other camps are throwing some shots at each other, some at me as well. We are not reacting to that.”

“We are going to continue to present ourselves to potential party members and existing party members about the vision and how I conduct myself, how I lead, how I will keep the party together, how i will keep caucus together.”

Milobar just wrapped up a tour through northern B.C., and he has a set of stops planned in the Lower Mainland in the weeks ahead. One of the key issue in front of candidates has been the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIPA).

“Repealing DRIPA does not strip away constitutional rights from indigenous or non-indigenous people in British Columbia or anywhere else in Canada. It’s simply saying that a piece of legislation that the government brought in is not working as intended,” said Milobar.

“It’s creating uncertainty, it’s actually creating conflict. So it’s time to take that step back, repeal it and still fulfill constitutional obligations and duties as it relates to indigenous communities.”

The next BC Conservative leader will be selected during a party convention on May 30.